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The other day I came across a quote that really made me stop and think. That’s really hard to do in the age of social media. It seems that everyone is posting motivational quotes these days, but this one really caught my attention. The quote was simply…

“In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength but by perseverance.”

If you really stop and think about this quote for a moment you will quickly see just how true it is and how it can be applied to so many areas of our life.

I have the honor of coaching several kids and young adults in the sport of triathlon and we talk about this principal often. It’s the principal that in the long run, consistent hard work will trump pure strength and talent every time. Over the years, many people have come up…

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Francis Bacon once said, “Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” 2016 was a year in which this maxim was true for me.

For a few years now, I have taken up the yearly book challenge offered by Goodreads, a free book-lovers site now owned by Amazon (if you sign up, please friend me). At the start of the year, one sets a goal of how many books he/she wants to read and during the year the site tracks their progress. For a book/word geek like me, Goodreads is legit (that’s the current term my teenagers are using for anything off the charts)! It tracks interesting statistics like how many books one has read, how many total pages read during that year, what the average rating one gave to books throughout the year, etc. There is even a statistic that charts the publication date (year) the books that one has read.Continue reading “Books I Read in 2016”

For most of my life, I had managed to stay out of the “long commute” club (I define long commute as anything longer than a thirty-minute drive). However, in the fall of 2012, I joined hesitantly as my commute from Northwest Indiana to Chicago began on a daily basis. After a fifteen-mile drive, I would get on a train (NICTD) for a forty minute ride. After hopping off of the train, I then walked approximately 17 minutes (1.2 miles) before I would arrive at my work place.

At first, I couldn’t believe that I was commuting 75-90 minutes each way every day! In addition, I would moan and bemoan the fact that nearly three hours of every day was wasted with my commute (whine, whine). However, it wasn’t long before I realized what a blessing I had been given. It was during that commute that I was beginning to spend a good amount of time reading, re-reading, and meditating on God’s Word each day. Many of the books that were “shouting” at me to be read were now being consumed in a rather quick manner. In addition, I was constantly meeting new people which led to many different discussions about God, the Bible, and eternity.

Nobody that I know of likes trials. And when I speak of trials, I am not particularly referring to that which happens in a court of law (although it could be). I am speaking of any type of situation that “tries” you. Yes – you are put on trial and examined to see if you pass the test. As I pondered trials in my own life, I decided to look up the definition of the word ‘trial’ in Webster’s 1828 Dictionary of the English Language. The definition helps us to learn exactly what a trial is…

Trial
TRI’AL[from try.] Any effort or exertion of strength for the purpose of ascertaining its effect, or what can be done.

I like to read. In matter of fact, I really enjoy reading. That did not happen by accident. There are several factors that led to my enjoyment of reading. First, my parents put me in a good school where I learned to read at an early age. Second, they supplied me with books that were fun to read for a young boy. Books like the Hardy Boys, The Call of the Wild, Irish Red, and Big Red were just a few of the types of books that were given to me. In addition, my Pops (some of you call him dad…I call him Pa or Pops) provided me with exciting missionary stories that piqued my interest about spiritual adventure in far away lands.

The subject of reading reminds me of the first quality Bible that my parents gave to me on my 14th birthday. The Bible was a leather, Scofield Reference edition. Inscribed on the front cover was I Timothy 4:13, “Til I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”

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There is something special about mornings…okay, maybe not mornings in general, but “morning time.” What am I saying? Morning time is the best time to set the course for one’s day. It is no secret that the most successful people (in any endeavor) are people who are up early and spending time on important issues early in their day (See recent story on Business Insider).

Now, when I say “morning time,” I am not referring to a specific time of the day. I am referring to the first part of your day. For thousands of years, “morning time” was traditionally the early part of the morning. With the advent of the incandescent bulb, many people have had their schedules changed drastically. If you work a third shift, your “morning time” would be the first time of your day whenever you wake up.

Hello there! I would like to begin this blog with the definition of the word, spiritual. Although many deny it, we live in a spiritual world. The Word of God states that “God is a spirit,” (Jn. 4:24) and mankind was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). I plan on exploring spirituality throughout this blog.

While exploring spiritual things, I also want the subjects shared to be relevant to your life. The word relevant means “pertinent or applicable.” So much of the subject of spirituality is not applicable to people’s lives. My desire is for these postings to be applicable to your life.